Wizarding Weekend, an Ithaca tradition. A weekend where people can be any mythical creature they want to be. We can wear extravagant outfits and not be judged because everyone there is dressed similarly to us.

I'm someone who has been in love with the Harry Potter series since the second grade. The idea of wizards, spells, and all sorts of magic intrigued me. So knowing that there was a Wizarding Weekend specifically to help me celebrate my love for Harry Potter was a dream come true.

I have read all the books and seen all the movies. Harry Potter had been a large part of my life because it was the first YA novel I read. It was also the first series I read and is the reason I become invested in stories that come in multiple parts.

The Harry Potter World had always seemed so magnificent, it was magical and it seemed like everyone wanted to be a part of it. Then it seemed as if the wizarding world jumped off the pages and into my life. Universal created Harry Potter World, it was the first actual place where people who enjoyed the magic of J.K. Rowling could convene and meet others like them.

Being so invested into Harry Potter I have taken all the quizzes and tests on it. I have even taken the multiple versions of the Sorting hat quizzes. Proudly I can tell you all that I am a Slytherin everytime I take it.

And before you say anything, no, Slytherin is not the evil house, despite what everyone thinks that's just a lame rumor. The Slytherin house his known for making leaders who are proud, ambitious, and cunning. I'm proud to be a Slytherin, that shade of green has always been my favorite.

So here I am in Ithaca getting ready for Wizarding Weekend, what is supposed to be the most magical weekend of my life. Alas, it was raining and said to be raining for the entirety of the weekend. With no magic spell that could change it, I was sadly disheartened and knew that this would not be the year I see everything Wizarding Weekend has to offer.

Dressed in my Hogwarts uniform and Slytherin sweatshirt I ventured to the commons with my muggle friends. I am calling them muggles for the mere fact that they knew nothing about Harry Potter-they haven't even watched the movies-and the aren't magical at all. I was right on my assumptions though, because of the rain not as many vendors and tables were around,

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Did I still walk around in the rain? Yes, do I regret it? Maybe a little.

I'm pretty sure I now have a cold, but it was worth it. Harry Potter will always be worth it. There are actually so many students at Ithaca as obsessed with Harry Potter as I am, I am so glad for that.

Even in the rain, there were many roleplayers in full costume, the freezing weather not slowing them down. While listening to the jazz band I got a performance from a man in a giraffe suit. The rain was not stopping him from dancing about.

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We're definitely going to try again next year, and hopefully, it doesn't rain. I definitely need to find a spell to warm me up or at least keep the rain at bay.